CSX's great upkeep of track

About a month ago, I was railfanning along the CSX west trenton line in belle mead, NJ. The train that went by was surging like a racehorse. After the train passed, I went down onto the track to see if there was something that someone should know about. I think that this is consiterd welded rail...even though about every other rail was joined. There were also spikes scattered everywhere, and most of the ties looked like they were from 1939 (that was the date stamped on the side of the rail) Can someone tell me what the speed limit is on that streach, and if NJT really wants to run trains on that track unreplaced to defeat the high cost.

The date on the side of the rail dose not mean a thing most of the time. The rail could have or could be new rail that has been in storage for a while. A rail gang could have replaced a section of rail and at the most part left the old spikes behind where they may or may not be picked up right away.

You should keep clear of the track before you are picked up and heavily fined for tresspassing. there are Track inspection cars and track forman that run the line and inspect it weekly/monthly as required by the FRA

Track speeds and limits are federally regulated by the FRA (Federal railroad administration) the FRA set the standards that railroads apply and enforce rules for.

A lot of rail, on my division anyway, is in pretty bad shape. The tracks guys are always out there slowing us down while the inspect it so I can only assume they are doing their job properly.

Please stay clear of the tracks at least if a train is approaching. We never know if you're the person thats not going to hear us, going to commit suicide, or shoot at us... so please stand clear when we come by.

Well, I know that it wasn't the smartest thing in the world to do that (go onto the track), but I am not so sure that you got the right idea where I was actually watching it from. I was watching it from the US 206 overpass, not from the right of way. That would be VERY stupid. Also my original intent of this topic was for it to be an area for some engineers to talk about some problems that they've had over CSX's CSAO lines, spurred on by a little story from a month or so ago.

Chessie GM50 wrote:Well, I know that it wasn't the smartest thing in the world to do that (go onto the track), but I am not so sure that you got the right idea where I was actually watching it from. I was watching it from the US 206 overpass, not from the right of way. That would be VERY stupid. Also my original intent of this topic was for it to be an area for some engineers to talk about some problems that they've had over CSX's CSAO lines, spurred on by a little story from a month or so ago.

I don't know about the CSAO lines but our tracks could use a lot of work... and I'm not just talking about the main. Little spur tracks, branch lines, yard tracks, etc are so rickety thats its scary.

Chessie GM50 wrote:Well, I know that it wasn't the smartest thing in the world to do that (go onto the track), but I am not so sure that you got the right idea where I was actually watching it from. I was watching it from the US 206 overpass, not from the right of way. That would be VERY stupid. Also my original intent of this topic was for it to be an area for some engineers to talk about some problems that they've had over CSX's CSAO lines, spurred on by a little story from a month or so ago.

So you were trolling? Just out to stir the pot? Anyway, while I don't know about the New Jersey side, Shared Assets in Detroit is maintained by SHARED ASSETS, not CSX.

Duplicate post.

He may be trolling...but there's no denying that CSX has had track-upkeep issues since its inception. That is not merely my opinion; it's documented in Rush Loving's seminal work, The Men Who Loved Trains as he described Conrail's search for a White Knight to protect it from the NS.

David LeVan's concern, from the start, was that CSX had a grossly inadaquete maintenance program, and that for merger to proceed, the attitude on track maintenance would have to change - from Snow's office on down.

It didn't happen, of course, and now the guys who wound up riding the Black Stallions seem to have a better deal than those of us who have to deal with The Jacksonville Mindset.

While I agree that during Snows time, and during the 1st couple years of Wards time, it seemed like they got by with the smallest amount of track work possible. However this last summer and into the fall it seemed as if the entire railroad was a 707, people were just everywhere working on the track. I think that Snow got CSX into a big hole, and it will take some time to fix it, but they seem to be working on it.

conrail_engineer wrote:He may be trolling...but there's no denying that CSX has had track-upkeep issues since its inception. That is not merely my opinion; it's documented in Rush Loving's seminal work, The Men Who Loved Trains as he documented Conrail's search for a White Knight to protect it from the NS.

David LeVan's concern, from the start, was that CSX had a grossly inadaquete maintenance program, and that for merger to proceed, the attitude on track maintenance would have to change - from Snow's office on down.

It didn't happen, of course, and now the guys who wound up riding the Black Stallions seem to have a better deal than those of us who have to deal with The Jacksonville Mindset.

Snow raped the property by under maintaining it during his tenure at the helm....and then raped it again with his severance agreement when he left the rape the country as a whole by becoming Treasury Secretary. In the Snow days, the System gangs were all tied up by Thanksgiving and were furloughed until the start of the following year (Happy Thanksgiving...here is your furlough notice!). Gangs are now working the entire year. On the principle routes, the geometry and Sperry rail inspections are taking place two and in some cases three times each year.

So you were trolling?

Mabye next time, I'll do something really dumb, and stop the occasional maintnence crew, and say that "I'm the troll of the US 206 bridge, pay up to pass."

I actually think that this is just modern corporation management. Do whatever you can to increase the bottom line for a while, then retire and take a huge bonus, or get fired and take a severance, make yourself rich at the company's expense either way, and someone else has to be the bad guy to spend to fix the mess you made.

You're seeing it with companies as varied as CSX, Home Depot, and even eBay.. probably Chrysler next. I won't get into the details, but it seems common enough nowadays.

From our property down on the Sandpatch line, it appears that CSX is really out there working on the tracks more than I can ever remember. The rail grinder has been by at least twice, ties, rail, and ballast are being tended, and most of the trains seem to be running at night (or in bunches) due to the work being done.
Malley